Xiangguo Monastery, formerly known as Jianguo Temple, is the place where Lu Zhishen uprooted the weeping willow trees in "Water Margin". The temple was founded in the sixth year of the Tianbao reign of Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi (555 AD). The Daxiangguo Temple reached an unprecedented peak during the Northern Song Dynasty and was a royal temple at that time.
The Arhat Hall in the temple, commonly known as the "octagonal glazed hall", is an octagonal cloister style building. There is a large group of "Sakyamuni Lecture" in the cloister inside the hall. Five hundred Arhat have different postures and vivid shapes.
In the middle of the Arhat Hall, tourists can also watch an octagonal pavilion with a wooden structure, in which there is a 6 meter high wooden statue of "Avalokitesvara Avalokitesvara". The statue is a cultural relic from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, carved from a white fruit tree. It has 6 large hands on each side, more than 200 small hands, and each small hand has a discerning eye, totaling more than 1000, hence the name Thousand Hand Thousand Eye Buddha.
Travel Tips
Address: No. 36, West Section of Ziyou Road, Gulou District, Kaifeng City
Tel:0371-25978502,0371-22733099,0378-5665982
Opening hours: 8:00-18:00.